Robert
Howson: TARGETS: The New Pretty?Robert
Howson: TARGETS: The New Pretty?
October 16 to
December 14
Link to Robert Howson's site: www.thenewpretty.com
Guelph
artist Robert Howson offered a brash and artistic application of the firing range
target to art in his innovative showroom installation TARGETS: The New
Pretty?, his first exhibition in a public art gallery.
By manipulating the traditional target image into a working icon, Howson
cleverly twisted it from its intended purpose.
Through the use of new mediums, the artist transformed the target by
designing a seductive signature collection of household furniture and home
decor.
Dedicated
to the creation of aesthetically pleasing, functional objects, Howson worked with feverish enthusiasm for more than five years.
The exhibition TARGETS: The New Pretty? represented the culmination
of his efforts to exhibition date. From print
media to fully functional sculpture, Howson assumed the role of interior
designer in this endeavour. By
incorporating the target motif, he revealed the omnipresence of consumerism.
The
target was embraced within every conceivable domestic space including the
kitchen, living room, bedroom, and even the nursery. Arranged in complete showroom-like vignettes, the objects
ranged from mainstay furnishings to finishing touches. With each finely executed piece, Howson presented a new and
skewed concept of living. In TARGETS:
The New Pretty?, Howson took
aim at our domestic desires and subtly mocked our insatiable lust for ‘the new
pretty’.
The exhibition TARGETS: The New Pretty? and the accompanying brochure with an essay by Sheri Manuel was presented with the support of the Ontario Arts Council.